And george h



(No Model.)

B. P. HAUGH & G. H. VINOETT.

GAR. COUPLING.

No. 586,183 Patented July 13,1397. 4

ATTORNEY.

NITED STATES PATENT Enron,

BENJAMIN F.'I-IAUGH, on INDIANAPOLIS, AND GEORGE n. VINCETT, or ANDERSON, INDIANA.

CAR-COUPL|NG..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,183,'dated July 13, 1897.

Application filed January 18, 1897. Serial No. 619,546. (No model.)

Anderson, in the county of Madison, State of Indiana, citizens of the United States, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knuckles for Oar-Couplers, of which the'following is a specification.

.view of the same.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in connection with antomatic car-couplers, as will be hereinafter set forth.

The object of this our invention is to provide a means whereby the contacting surfaces of the engaging or interlocking portions or elements of the coupler, termed knuckles, will be rendered more durable and oifer a greater resistance to an abrasion of the contacting surfaces of the said interlocking parts or knuckles. We attain these objects by means of our metallic case-hardened strip applied to or insorted into the bearing-surfaces of the knuckles of the coupler illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar numerals of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

. ,Figure 1 is a broken'oif sectional plan View of an automatic car-coupler, showing our resistance-strip applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail plan View of the coupling-knuckle of the coupler. Fig. 3 is a detail elevational Fig. 4: is 'a detail front and broken-off sectional views of that portion of the knuckles showing the manner of inserting the resistance-strip or metallic insertion in the contacting or bearing surface of the knuckle, and Fig. 5 is a similar view showinga modification of the said resistance-strip.

The coupling may be of any of the wellknown forms of standard automatic couplers in general use, and for an illustration of the application of our invention we show a form of automatic coupler 1, (see Fig. 1), which exhibits the interlocking or coupling elements or knuckles 2 in coupled position or engagement.

The coupling-knuckles 2 are pivoted in the hollow of the draw-bar head by means of the pins 3, and the contours of the engaging or contacting surfaces of theknuckles between of hardened metallic strips 6 to the contacting surfaces of the knuckles, which strips may be either inserted in the knuckle after the forming of the same, or the said strips may be cast in place while casting the knuckle and in such a manner as to cause the outer hearing or contacting surfaces to be flush and to conform with the contour of the knuckles. The strips 6 may be constructed either of self-hardening steel (preferably this material when said strips are to be cast in place) or any other metal capable of receiving a high degree of temper or hardness combined with toughness, or a metal capable of being casehardened or chilled, which hardness is necessary to prevent the rapid wear at the rubbing contacting surfaces of the said knuckles.

The making or the composition of the selfhardening material of which the resistancestrip is composed is of importance and is accomplished bymixing and compounding with the steel, preferably when in a molten state, a certain percentage of either of the following metals: Tungsten, manganese, nickel, chromium, 850., any one of which imparts to the steel with which it is compounded that faculty of returning to the hardened state when permitted to cool in the natural way, and this condition will still exist in the steel so coinpounded irrespective of the number of times the compound may be heated and permitted to gradually cool. By the use of such a compound metal the casting of the hardened strip in place is made practical, as thesaid strip will return to its former hard state under all conditions of heat and will still retain its natural hardness and toughness, and in addition will be capable of being welded to other metals by either being in contact with the molten metal or being welded to other metal when both are heated to awelding-heat to be welded together.

The longitudinal edges of the resistancestrips 6 may be beveled or dovetailed in the knuckles, and as a further means of firmly securing the said strips to the knuckles 1ongitudinal slots 8, which taper outwardly at their edges, are provided for the purpose of permitting the fluid metal when casting said knuckles to flow therein to form dovetail center grips or anchors, which effectually prevent said strips from bulging and loosening along their surfaces of contact With the knuckles to which they are connected or welded. Another modification of the said strip is illustrated in Fig. 5, which exhibits a series of countersunk holes 9, arranged over the surface of the strip, and which maybe substituted for the longitudinally-extending slots having tapered edges. In such cases, where the knuckles are formed by being drop-forged, it will be readily understood that the said strips may be welded in place to the knuckles, and in casting the said knuckles the strips may be set in place in the mold, and the metal of which said knuckles is composed is poured into the mold, thereby welding the said strip to the molten metal, which opera tion can be readily understood without further description.

Having thus fully described the nature of this our invention, what we claim as new and useful, and desire to cover by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. A coupling-knuckle for car-couplers, having a hardened metallic resistance-strip cast in place in its hearing or coupling surface and flush with the said surface.

2. A coupling-knuckle for car-couplers, having a resistance-strip of a self-hardening material cast in place in its hearing or coupling surface and flush with the said surface. 

